Hats off to the perfect Sunday morning

The word brunch may conjure images of greasy eggs, bloody Mary’s, tangled hair and hangovers, but in Chicago it’s a big deal. Despite hangovers, many fashionistas use this big Sunday time slot as an extension to showcase their fashion. And what goes best after a lingering calorie-ridden brunch? Walking it off by shopping of course! And the two best neighborhoods for brunch also happen to be the best for shopping.

Gold Coast – Chicago’s uppity neighborhood for shopping (think Prada, Gucci, Harry Winston, Hermes, Barney’s and much more) is the same for fashion. Here women don their highest name fashion wear most likely purchased at one of the boutiques nearby. Fred’s of Barney’s is a fave celeb-spotting place for brunch (and killer deal for the $25 three course brunch with mimosa) and for fashion, as is Lux Bar and Bistrot Zinc. To differentiate your look however, it’s all about accessories. You don’t want to look like everyone else do you? To do so, it’s all in the hats.

At brunch, style is the main course

Located smack dab in the center of the Gold Coast is star hat designer Loreta Corsetti’s atelier. An internationally renowned and award winning designer is often spotted in the Gold Coast in her own designs – as are all her friends and women who know that a hat is the perfect accoutrement to snazz up your look. As for men’s brunch fashion in the Gold Coast, think Burberry and Gucci – yum!

Guy style looks delicious here!

Wicker Park – full of unique and vintage boutiques and plenty of names to brag about (aka Marc Jacobs’ boutique) this neighborhood has more funk ‘n spunk than the Gold Coast. All sorts of styles can be expected here as people head to brunch in The Fifty/50, The Bongo Room and Birchwood Kitchen.

Bountiful brunch at Birchwood

Style here represents shabby chic, like girly dresses with funky colored tights. Or to add a real individual flair, celebrate brunch with appropriate accessories. Carly Fisher, mastermind of The Chicago Brunch Blog showcases these adorable brunch-inspired accessories: croissant hair-pins and egg earrings.

Accessories that look good enough to eat

The boys’ fashion here? Total grab bag of looks from Diesel to indie labels so make sure to do plenty of people, er um, boy watching!

Bon appétit!